That is an interesting point, because my interior light doesn't always come on. I don't see a pattern to it myself, but it is worth investigating the connection between the two.

Thanks for that bit of advice!

That is a good point too. A favorite expression in our family is "RTFM"..."Read The ****** Manual".

Guess I should take that sagely advice. <img src="/images/graemlins/ooo.gif" alt="" />

You need to make sure that when you hook the cable to the car that it is touching BARE metal. Most cars have painted parts so what you have to do is scratech off the paint to allow the clamp to touch bear mettal. I have found this the case in almost all the times I have had to jumpstart a car.
cheers

This is why I like Optima batteries. They do not have liquid acid in them. They also have low internal resistance so they put out alot of amps for starting and then re-charge fast. That way they stay in good condition. I also appreciate that they seem to stay cleaner and when I open the hood I don't get that acid fume smell.

How long do those last? I found a thread or two from people saying they only got a couple years out of them but I always thought they lasted longer than that.

Ors--

I may be wrong, but it seems from your description that you left the circuit open in the wrong place. You should have attached the negative cable to the negative terminal on your (dead) battery, then grounded the other end to the boosting (live) car, in the manner of your choosing.

The connection sequence I ALWAYS use when jumping a car is this:

1 - Live/boosting positive (usually, with engine running)
2 - dead positive
3 - dead negative
4 - live ground (either to the battery, or another appropriate ground on the running engine)

You initially reversed #3 & #4, which left no way for a circuit to be completed with your dead battery...until you connected the negative cable to it, as well.

I've made the same mistake in the past...until I finally learned to do it "by the numbers".

Also, a good heavy-gauge set of jumper cables should be in every vehicle you own. I use mine to help out others more often than not, but nothing else will do when you need them!

Glad you got up & running.

David

A few things about jump-starting.

1. Avoid it in the first place, if at all possible. A 100% depleted battery will never perform properly again.

2. Remember that you're moving HUNDREDS of amps through a relatively small cable - as a result you need utterly SOLID metal-to-metal connections.

HEre's a good guide:
http://www.ext.nodak.edu/extpubs/ageng/safety/ae1021w.htm

I learned to connect the cables the other way, with the ground at the dead battery end. To double check, I looked at the owner's manual for my two cars, and they both say to ground the dead battery end. I've jumped cars this way, and obviously you've jumped cars your way, so both ways allow current to flow. Of course, when in doubt, follow your own car manufacturer's instructions.

I recently found this outstanding webpage on car batteries. There's a lot of great information on here and from what I've read so far, it all looks authoritative. E.g. I didn't really realize that your car's alternator could burn out or blow a diode from trying to recharge a completely dead battery because it's not designed to. So, even after getting a jump start and driving around for a while, you might disable your recharging system and soon end up with a dead battery again. That possibility had never occurred to me before. Anyway, check it out.